George Street Leader, Pinky, and female companion murdered

Shelton "Pinky" Tillett & Kamille Andrews

There was a prevailing sense of insecurity that enveloped the Old Capital over the weekend as open gang warfare flared up. In the past fifteen days alone, there have been fourteen murders; that's almost one per day. But turning to the bloodbath, at the start of weekend on Friday afternoon, Orlando Reyes was killed at the corner of Orange and George Streets. He was not the intended target but eight hours later, one of the City's most dreaded residents and leader of the George Street Gang, Shelton "Pinky" Tillett was gunned down at a service station along with a female companion. On Saturday afternoon, another gang affiliate from the SSG was killed on Caesar Ridge Road. This morning, the well known gang leader Arthur Young of Taylor's Alley was killed while in the custody of the police. We will have the full reports and the murder scenes of all the murders in the City and another in Belmopan which means that six persons lost their lives in the weekend's violence. We start tonight's newscast with the murder of Shelton August Tillett AKA Pinky of George Street who was killed on Friday night. Considered the most dangerous gang leader, Pinky was murdered just before midnight at a service station on the Northern Highway. He went inside the convenience store and on returning to his vehicle, someone opened fire from a silver pathfinder parked near the street. Pinky died immediately and his female companion, Kamille Andrews, was also shot dead. News Five's Andrea Polanco reports.

 

Andrea Polanco, Reporting

George Street Gang leader, Shelton "Pinky" August Tillett's vehicle was riddled with bullets on Saturday night shortly before eleven-thirty. Killed on the spot, August is seen slumped over the driver's wheel. He was shot to the center of the chest, left side of the chest, right arm and neck. Also in the vehicle at the time, was twenty-three year old Kamille Andrews, she was also fatally shot to the left arm, left arm pit, right breast and right rib cage. It is reported that Tillett was at the gas station to make a purchase inside the mini-mart, and upon re-entering his vehicle; a man with a dread hat and mask over his face exited a pathfinder and fired the fatal shots:

 

Fitzroy Yearwood

Insp. Fitzroy Yearwood, Police Press Officer

"A little after eleven o'clock on Friday Shelton August also known as Shelton Tillett, the claimed leader of George Street Gang was driving his white Ford Ranger pickup. He arrived at the Esso Gas Station on the Northern Highway in the company of one Kamille Andrews. Mister August exited the vehicle, made a purchase in the gas station and immediately upon returning into his vehicle, a lone gunman opened fire on him and the female killing both of them on the spot."

 

Tillett, along with Micah Thompson and now deceased, Charles Woodeye were jointly charged with the San Pedro murder of John Paul Saldivar at the end of January 2009. In 2010, the murder charge against Tillett and four others was withdrawn. In November 2011, Pinky was one of the three men, all affiliates of George Street who won the lawsuit against the government on the grounds of false imprisonment on the murder of John Paul Saldivar. Tillett, Thompson and the family of Woodeye were compensated $25,000 each:

 

Agnes Segura Gillett, Attorney [Nov 15, 2011]


"I think that their life at liberty was worth more than twenty-five thousand dollars. So we are not satisfied with that aspect of the decision. They have been awarded their loss of earning in respect of one of them and they have been awarded their attorney's fees and fees that they had paid in the criminal trial. However they have the recourse of appeal; to appeal the quantum of damages and that will be up to them to decide how to go."

 

Agnes Segura Gillett

Jules Vasquez, 7News


"Obviously your clients have a certain public reputation and while no evidence was used in court to indicate anything that they are George Street affiliates or anything, do you think that the quantum indicates that there were some sub textual, implicit consideration of that? Because I would like to think that a lay person such like as myself if imprisoned for eleven months, I would get more than twenty-five thousand dollars."


 

Agnes Segura Gillett

"I would hate to think that that was one of the considerations that was taken into account because at the end of the day, they are human beings, they are entitled to liberty and they were deprived of that liberty. They were imprisoned in super max, they gave evidence that they slept on the ground. I mean all of these things affected them psychologically. They were deprived of access to their family. Even if you are a member of a gang, you are still entitled to your freedom and you don't suffer any less because of who you are."

Earlier that year, In September of 2011, Tillett along with key dons of the different gangs, engaged in peace talks with the Prime Minister. That discourse later led to the "gang truce." Back in September of last year, Prime Minister Barrow met with key figures in the George Street Gang after they went public expressing their grievances against the GSU and making blank threats against innocent civilians and public safety.

 

Dean Barrow

Dean Barrow [Sept 2, 2011]

"The primary purpose was to diffuse the situation in terms fot he threat that had been issued. By the time I got here this afternoon, I learnt that a press release had in fact been given to you yesterday and that the George Street and Affiliates had already given an undertaking. It was nevertheless necessary to confirm that undertaking in today's meeting and to go beyond that. We had two sets of meetings. The minister arranged for everyone else other than George Street to come one-thirty and we spoke to them and then of course we had the meeting with George Street and its affiliates at three-thirty. We agreed with both sides that there is a need for a face to face dialogue and all parties meeting with government-of course with the state acting as facilitator and that will take place on Sunday. The idea is to try and forge some kind of a truce and that was made clear to both sides-both sides expressed that willingness to talk about exactly that objective. Whether we will actually be successful coming out of that meeting on Sunday is another matter, but given where we are, it is certainly worth the effort and I certainly am absolutely committed to investing my time in the process to try and achieve the outcome that we all desire."

Channel 5